When an actor who has previously been seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is cast in another MCU movie, the assumption is that they’ll be playing the same character. That might not be the case for Gemma Chan.
. However, she may not be reprising her earlier role.
Of course, [spoilers] Minn-Erva was blown up in Captain Marvel — but it’s the MCU, and we didn’t actually see a body, so you never know. Characters come back all the time and we aren’t sure yet when Eternals is set or if it’s even in the same plane of existence. We’ve reached out to Marvel for comment and will update if the studio responds. (It usually doesn’t comment on anything.)
Whether Chan is a new character or not, it’s a welcome addition to an already amazing cast. Chan would join Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, and others who were all announced as cast members at Comic-Con this year. Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) is also said to be in talks to join the cast, per Collider.
Besides her small and, frankly, way under-utilised role in Captain Marvel, Chan starred in the excellent AMC show Humans, and was a breakout in the hit film Crazy Rich Asians. Eternals is set for release November 6, 2020 in the U.S. and will likely premiere around the same time in Australia.